Razor



Nov. 16, 1937.

Fig" 7. v 1 6% mil K. C. HANSON Filed March 10, 1956 Patented Nov. 16, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFKIE 2,099,605 RAZOR Application March 10, 1936, Serial No. 68,141 In Great Britain March 13, 1935 10 Claims.

This invention relates torazors of the, kind in which a single edged blade of a permanent or semi permanent nature (i. e. one capable of having its edge kept in condition by stropping or honing) isv employed which, when the razor is in use, is rigidly mounted on, a handle with its cutting edge in a plane transverse thereto.

The invention is primarily concerned with razors embodying a, thick rigid blade of substantially' wedge shape in cross, section and capable of being kept in condition for use indefinitely, but is, also capable of. being applied to razors in which a thin but more or less rigid single-edged blade is mounted in a carrying frame, to one side of which a handle is secured.

Now the chief object of the present invention is to provide arazor of the type in which the cutting edge of the blade is arranged transversely of; the handle which can not only have its parts readily re-arranged in a compact form when not required for use, but in which, in addition, the stropping operation can becarried out by the ordinary method in which the blade is turned by hand at each, end of its movement and without. the necessity for mechanical interengagement between the strop and the razor. A still further object is to provide for guarding the cutting edgeof the blade when the razor is not in use.

A blade and guard mounted accordingto the invention can be displaced to bring the cutting edge of the blade into a longitudinal plane passing substantially through the longitudinal centre line of the handle, and means are provided whereby the guard can either move freely to permit stroppingor be locked for guarding the cutting edge for packing. For this purpose the blade may be rotatable through a full 360 degrees and one arm? of the guard frame maybe extended or otherwise arranged to co-operate with the handle when the blade is in one of its coplanar or longitudinal positions, so that the guard is then looked in the guarding position. The other arm of the frame, however, does not.

'"gco-operate with the handle in this way so that when the blade is in its other co-planar or longitudinal position the guard is'still free to swing and the blade can then be stropped in the or dinaryway.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect reference will now be made to the accompanying drawing which illustrates, by way of example, various ways of constructing razors according to he p esent invent on. and in WIliQ112-Fig,

1, 2 and 3 are perspective views showing in a general manner the arrangement of the parts and the functional characteristics of a razor constructed according to the invention.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional side elevation 5 showing one method of mounting the blade on the handle and also showing, in dotted lines, the

blade in its locked, position ready for carrying.

Fig. 5 is a rear elevation of Fig. 4 partly sectioned to show the device employed for limiting the movement of the guard member.

, Fig. 6 is a plan view corresponding to Figs.

4, and 5.

Fig. '7 is a sectional elevation showing a modified form of blade mounting.

Fig. 8 is a'rear sectional elevation of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation corresponding with Fig. '7 and showing a modified arrangement for limiting movement of the guard and locking the latter when the razor is not in use and also showing in dotted lines the blade in its locked position, ready for carrying.

Figs. 10 and 11 are enlarged fragmentary sections on lines A-A and B-B in Fig. 9 and illustrating respectively the arrangements for limiting movement of the guard member and locking it when not required for use.

Fig. 12 is a side elevation of a razor embodying a further modified arrangement for limiting movement of the guard.

In the drawing, Figs. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate the general arrangement and operation of a razor constructed according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the successive figures showing the razor in the shaving, stropping and carrying positions respectively. In this embodiment a thick rigid blade I of substantially wedge shape in cross section is employed and is pivot ally mounted at 2 directly on the handle 3 (i. e. without the intermediary of any supporting frame) so as to be capable of rotation about the axis XX to take up positions either transverse to (as shown in Fig. 1) or co-planar with a plane through the centre of the handle 3 (as shown in Figs. 2 and 3). A- guard member 4 is mounted parallel with the cutting edge of the blade I and at a short distance from it, said guard member 4 being carried by side members or. arms 5 mounted for pivotal movement about an axis Y-Y, the guard member 4 and side members 5 together constituting a 3-sided frame enclosing the ends and cutting edge of the blade I and the arrangement of the guard member 4 thus being such that it is capable of swingingbetween positions on either side of the cutting edge (see Fig.

2). Means, which are more particularly described hereinafter, are provided for limiting this movement to a reasonable degree. Further, one side member 5 is extended rearwardly at H beyond the rear face of the blade and is adapted to make locking co-operation with the handle 3, for example in one of the ways described more fully below, when the blade is turned into a coplanar position. With this arrangement it will be clear that the blade i can be rotated at will about its axis X-X and also that in one of its co-planar positions (Fig. 2) the guard 4 will be free to permit stropping' whilst in the other (Fig. 3) it will be locked for carrying. In this connection also means are provided for positively locating the blade l in each of its four positions.

The precise details of construction such as the particular form of pivotal mounting 2 between the blade l and the handle 3 and the manner in which the members 5 co-operate with the handle 3 to become locked, can be varied. For example, either of the constructions shown in Figs. 4 to 8 can be employed. In each case however, the broad functional characteristics are the same, that is to say the bladei can be rotated about an axis at right angles to the handle 3 so as to occupy a position co-planar therewith with either of its ends uppermost, whilst the guard remains free to move from side to side of the cutting edge except when the blade is in one of its co-planar positions.

In the constructional embodiment illustrated in Figs. 4 to 6 the blade 5 is rigidly secured to a supporting spindle 6 arranged in a recess l in the upper end of the handle 3 and projecting through an aperture in the front wall of the recess to make engagement with a threaded socket in the centre of the rear face of the blade 3. provided between the head 9 of the spindle ii and the front wall of the recess so that the rear face of the blade I is maintained in close contact with the handle 3, whilst the rear face of the blade I is formed at ID and l respectively with longitudinal and transverse grooves or recesses of arcuate cross section corresponding in curvature to the surface of the handle.

The guard member 4 and supporting members 5 are afforded by a three-sided wire frame pivotally mounted on inwardly projecting supports 52 on the ends of the blade l. Each of the side members 5 of the guard d is extended beyond its point of pivotal connection with the blade l and each is provided with a recess i3 on its inner face. At a corresponding point in each end of the blade I is a socket Iii in which rests a ball l5 carrying a short arm it, the outer end of which is rounded and engages inside the recess in the end member.

of the guard as shown more particularly in Fig. 5.

One end member 5 of the guard is provided with an extension i! which projects a short distance beyond the rear face of the blade.

The operation of this construction is as follows:

The blade '5 when ready for use occupies the position shown in full lines, in which the handle 3 engages in the transverse recess l i 'in the rear wall of the blade so as to locate the latter positively. The blade l however, is capable of moving in a direction along its axis of rotation owing to its resilient mounting .and this permits of it being rotated into either of its longitudinal positions by ordinary hand pressura'the ends of the transverse recess II in its rear face riding over the front face of the handle until the blade reaches the co-planar position when the spring comes into action to engage the longitudinal re- A spring 8 is cess with the handle. In this way the blade I is positively retained in any of four positions against accidental displacement but can readily be rotated by the application of sufficient hand pressure to overcome the tension of the spring mounting. When the blade i is in a transverse position with either side uppermost the guard i is free to oscillate across the cutting edge, the arm Hi having a toggle action during this movement so as to give a snap action, but when the blade is rotated into that co-planar position in which the rearward extension ll of the side member 5 of the guard is in its lowest position said extension i! engages with a socket it in the handle (see dotted lines in Fig. l) the entry of the extension ll into the socket it being permitted by the resilience of the blade mounting. In this position the guard 4 is locked at a point midway between the extremes of its swinging movement so that the cutting edge of the blade 5 is entirely obscured. When, however, the blade 8 occupies its other co-planar position in which the extension ii is uppermost'the guard G is quite free to carry out its swinging movement.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 7 to 11 the blade i is mounted for pure rotation only on a supporting spindle having a centre portion 19 of reduced diameter and square section, and larger bearing parts 9 by which it is rotatably mounted in the handle The latter is made in. two parts, the upper one 3 being hollow and having a plunger 3% upwardly pressed by aspring Zi arranged therein and the lower one 22 having a threaded spigot with which the upper part 3 engages. The parts are assembled as shown in Fig. i with the spindle occupying a position transversely across the upper end of the hollow handle 3 and the spring-pressed plunger 29 ngaging one of the flats on the reduced central portion is of the spindle.

The guard member 4, 5 is in this case pivotally mounted through the medium of coned supporting members 23 engaging correspondingly coned recesses in the ends of the blade and instead of employing the form of movement-limiting device described in the previous embodiment one side member 5 of the guard 4 is extended and is cranked inwardly into a recess 24 formed in the rear corner of the blade. When using thisconstruction a resilient guarcl'is employed so that the con'ed members 23 are held tightly in their recesses, and the frictional resistance prevents the guard moving with undue freedom. On the'other hand any wear which takes place is automatically taken up. 7

In order to lock the guard 3 when the blade I occupies one of its longitudinal positions one side member 5 of the guard has a flat-ended extension l'i beyond the rear face of the blade I as before. In this case, however, a groove 25 is formed in the handle 3.

In this constuction the blade l is nomally retained in either of its four positions by the resilient interengagement between the plunger 29 and the part is of the spindlebut' can be rotated from its transverse to either of its co-planar positions by the application of ordinary hand pressure. When the blade l occupies that position in which the extension l? of the guard is lowermost the fiat end of said extension engages the bottom of the groove 25 in the handle 3 as shown in 11 so that the guard 4 is then looked in a position in which it obscures the cutting edge of the blade in'this connection however, it may be remarked that the greaterthe length of the bearing surface formed by the flat end of the extension" I I the more rigid will be the locking effect.

A further form of movement-limiting means for the guard member 4 is shown in Fig. 12, said means consisting'inthis case of a pair of pins 26 projecting from the ends of the blade,'the guard member being provided, as before with a rearward extension 91 which works between the pins 26 and engages them in the extreme positions of the guard 4.

v It will be understood of course that the means shown in Figs. 4 to 6, 7 to 11 and in Fig. 12 for limiting the movement of the guard member of the blade can be used with blades mounted in other ways than those with which they are ac tually shown, e. g. the form of limiting means shown in Figs. 8-11 is equally applicable to the razor shown in Figs. 4-6.

Itwill be seen that with any of the constructionsdescribed a razor is provided which, a1- though employing a blade which is arranged transversely of the handle when in use, can read- 11y have its parts rearranged for packing simply byrotatingthe blade about its axis at right angles to the handle. In this form the razor is very compact and can actually be packed in a case small enough to be carried in the vest pocket,

whilst at the same time the cutting edge of the blade is perfectly guarded to prevent damage or accidental cutting when the razor is not in use. Furthermore, instead of it being necessary to remove the blade for whetting or to provide a complicated mounting the blade can be stropped in the same way as the original open bladed type of razor, in which the blade and handle are arranged in the same plane, simply by rotating the blade into that co-planar position in which the guard member is still free to oscillate across the cutting edge and then proceeding in the same way as with the said original type. Displacement of the blade from its longitudinal position by forces acting on a line normal to the centre line 31-12 is prevented by the inherent properties of the pivotal mounting, whilst inequalities in the applied forces due to unequal pressure on the strop and tending to rotate the blade will, except in extreme cases, be taken care of by the position-locating-means.

I claim:

1. A safety razor comprising, in combination, a handle, a single edged blade normally having its cutting edge in a plane at right angles transversely to said handle, means for mounting said blade on said handle which permit of the blade being displaced to bring its cutting edge into a longitudinal plane passing substantially through the longitudinal centre line of the handle, means for positively locating the blade in normal and longitudinal positions, a guard member arranged parallel to the cutting edge of the blade at a short distance therefrom, said guard member being mounted on said blade for movement across the cutting edge, means for limiting the extent of movement of the guard to either side of the cutting edge, and means for locking said guard mem her in its mid-position opposite to said edge.

2. A safety razor comprising a handle, a single edged blade normally having its cutting edge in a plane at right angles transversely to the handle,

means for mounting said blade on said handle which permit of the blade being displaced to bring its cutting edge into a longitudinal plane passing substantially through the longitudinal centre line of the handle, a guard member arranged parallel to the cutting edge of the blade and at a short dista-n'ce therefrom, said guard member being mounted on said blade for movement between extreme positions on oppositesides of the cutting edge, and means operable when the blade is longitudinally 'disposed'to' lock the guard member in its mid-position obscuring the cuttingedge.

3. A safety razor comprising a handle, a single edged blade arranged with its cutting edge in a plane at right angles transversely to the handle, means for mounting said blade on said handle which permit of the blade being displaced through anangle of -at least 90 in either direction so that the cutting edge can be moved into either of two diametrically opposed positions in a longitudinal plane passing substantially through the longitudinal centre line of the handle, a guard member arranged parallel to the cutting edge and at a short distance therefrom, said guard member being mounted on said blade for movement between extreme positions on oppositesides of the cutting edge, and means for locking the guard in its mid-position obscuring the cutting edge, said means becoming operable only when theblade is'in one of its longitudinal positions so that in other positions of the blade the guard remains free to swing.

4. A safety razor comprising a handle, a singl edged blade arranged with its cutting edge normally in a plane at right angles transversely to the handle, means for mounting said blade on said handle which permit of the blade being displaced through an angle of at least 90 in either direction so that the cutting edge can be moved into either of two diametrically opposed positions in a longitudinal plane passing substantially through the longitudinal centre line of the handle, a guard member arranged parallel to the cutting edge and at a short distance therefrom, said guard member being mounted on said blade for movement between extreme positions on opposite sides of the cutting edge, and. means on said guard member which, when the blade is in one of its longitudinal positions, cooperate with a relatively fixed part to lock the guard in its mid-position, the guard remaining free in the other longitudinal position of the blade.

5. A safety razor blade comprising a handle, a single edged blade with its cutting edge normally in a plane at right angles transversely to the handle, said blade being pivotally mounted on said handle for rotation about an axis substantially atright angles thereto through an angle of at least 90 in either direction so that the cutting edge can be moved into either of two diametrically opposed positions in a longitudinal plane passing substantially through the longitudinal centre line of the handle, a guard member comprising a three sided frame conforming to the outline of the edge and ends of the blade and pivotally mounted thereon, and an extension on one of the side members of said frame, said handle having a recess wherein said extension engages when the blade is in one of its longitudinal positions, the arrangement being such that during said engagement the frame is locked in a mid-position obscuring the cutting I edge of the blade.

the blade is mounted for slidable movement away from the handle along its axis of rotation, and Spring means are provided to resistthe outward movement of the blade and to return it towards the handle and at the same time force said extension part of the guard member into said recess, and the rear edge of the blade being provided with a longitudinal and a transverse recess in which the handle can engage when the blade is returned towards it, thus positively defining four longitudinal and transverse positions of the blade, including the position in which the guard member is locked.

8. A safety razor as claimed in claim 5, wherein the blade is mounted for rotation on the handle, and a resilient detent is provided to define four longitudinal and transverse positions of the blade, including that in which the extension part of the guard frame makes locking engagement with said recess. 9. In a safety razor, a handle, a pivot member extending transversely of the handle, a blade having a cutting edge and a back, said back being attached to one end of the pivot member to rotate between positions transversely to and longitudinally of the handle through 180, a U-shaped guard framehaving a pair of legs'and a cross piece, said legs extending along the ends of the blade and pivoted thereto, said cross piece extending parallel to said cutting edge and movable into positions in front of said edge and to each side thereof, spring controlled means to hold the blade releasably in its transverse and longitudinal positions, and means on the guard and handle cooperating in one longitudinal position of the blade to lock the cross piece of the guard in'position in front of said edge.

10. In a safety razor, alhandle, an edged blade pivoted to said handle to swing between'transverse and two longitudinal positions, an edge guard pivoted to the blade to swing to and from position in front of said blade, and cooperating means on the guard and handle for holding the guard in edge guarding position in one longitudinal position of the blade, said guard being movable out of edge guarding position in the remaining longitudinal position of the blade.

' KENNETH CECIL HANSON. 

